The presentation tonight
is entitled: "Discover Bible"
00:00:14.28\00:00:17.44
"Prophecy's Answer
for Human Suffering."
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Really, what begins tonight
is the first in a 3 part series,
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the first tonight, as
we've already said, "The Answer"
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"for Human Suffering", and
we take tomorrow night off,
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but we'll be back Thursday
and Friday for parts 1 and 2
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of a series entitled "Discover
the War Behind the Wars."
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These 3 presentations fit
together as a single unit.
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That is going to set up the
next 2 presentations, which I am
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very excited about,
which you should be as well,
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those presentations are entitled
"Discover Does Jesus Christ"
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"Have a Twin", and the next
night is "Discover the Actual,"
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"Definite, Certain, Unavoidable
Identity of the Antichrist".
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Some people say "Wait a minute,
you're actually going to"
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"tell us who the Antichrist is?"
No, I'm not going to tell you,
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what we're going to do
is look at it from the Bible
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and you will tell me who the
Antichrist is, I'm not kidding.
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We'll put all of the
identifying characteristics up
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from the Bible, not from a man
and you will be able to tell me
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at the end of the evening
exactly who the Antichrist is.
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You say "Why don't
you just do that tonight?"
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"That's really what
we'd like to hear tonight".
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The problem there is we have
to set these things in their
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proper context.
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Tonight is the 4th night of
our series, and if you've been
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paying attention you'll
see a very logical sequence
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in what's taking place.
The first night was basically
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an introduction.
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We asked basic questions
like "What is prophecy?"
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and "How can we
understand prophecy?",
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and "Where can I find
true and reliable prophecy?"
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And we looked at those 2 keys
for understanding Bible prophecy
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and particularly
the book of Revelation.
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Nr.1- in the book of
Revelation the Old Testament is
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the foundation, and Nr.2-
Jesus Christ is the focus.
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So the opening
night was an introduction.
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Then the second night
we looked at this statue.
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Our message was entitled
"Discover Ancient Babylon"
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"and How They Foretold the End
of the World", and this gives us
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a sense of where we
are in the sweep of time.
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Have you ever been to
one of those large malls,
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or maybe a large
shopping center and they'll have
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those billboards that show
all of the different stores,
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all of the different cafeterias,
and there'll be a little
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red dot there and it
says: "You are here."
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I've discovered something,
I've been here all my life.
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There's never been a time in my
life when I wasn't right here,
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so I look at that sign
and think "Oh, the sign knows"
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"where I am, I am,
in fact, right here."
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But in terms of a prophetic
sense what this gives us
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is a grand sweep of
time and let's us know
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"You are not here."
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"You are here!".
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The head of gold - Babylon;
the chest and arms of silver
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Medo-Persia; the belly
and thighs of bronze - Greece;
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the long legs of
iron represented Rome;
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the feet of iron and
clay represented divided Rome,
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and the very next thing
that happened was the stone
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struck the image on the
feet and that stone became
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a great mountain and
filled the whole earth.
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You're all "A"
students. So what we did
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that second night is said
"where are we in the grand"
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"sweep of things?"
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Then last night we asked the
question "Okay, so we're living"
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"down in those toes, down in
those feet of iron and clay,"
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"but just how near is the end",
and last night we presented
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what I consider to be
very compelling evidence
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that we are living in the very
closing hours of this earth's
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history; that is to say
that this thing is wrapping up
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rapidly. If you agree with that
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I want you to raise
your hand and say amen.
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- [Audience replies]
Amen. - That's exactly right,
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we did our best last night,
we gave 10 signs of the times,
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and somebody's going to say,
a skeptically minded person's
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going to say: "Oh, those signs
of the times have been around"
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"forever, there's always been
earthquakes, there's always"
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"been famines, there's
always been pestilence,"
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"there's always been wars
and rumors of wars, etc, etc",
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but what were the 2
illustrations, the 2 analogies
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that Jesus gave us to understand
the context of those signs
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of the times?
What was the first one?
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Labor pains, and
what was the second one?
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A fig tree, and do you
remember that those 2 analogies
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have 3 things in
common, let's see if you can
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remember those, they were
both visible, and they were both
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progressive and
they were both climactic.
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So what Jesus is saying is
that these signs are not new
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signs, they're not some new
thing, it's things that have
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been happening
throughout the sweep of history,
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but just before the end they
will increase in both, frequency
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and in intensity. What 2
things did I say everyone?
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Frequency and
intensity. So you get this sense
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that these things are happening
with greater frequency,
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greater intensity,
until eventually it reaches
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a fever pitch.
Just as in labor pains
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they are further apart
and then closer and closer,
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and eventually you have a baby,
and so too with the fig tree,
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it becomes tender and
it puts forth its leaves
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and eventually a
fig, and then summer.
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So what this has done
for us in the first 3 nights
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has really set a context.
Night Nr.1 is the simple
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introduction, the next 2 nights
gave us a sense of urgency
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that it is not
business as usual.
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It gave us a sense of what
everyone? [Audience] Urgency.
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And that's really what
we're trying to do here,
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is create a sense that something
is happening in the world.
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What we're going to begin
now is to go in to the great
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books of Daniel,
Revelation and other books
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and begin to unpack
some of these monumental
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and amazing prophecies
with this context of urgency.
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In fact tonight we're
actually going to be taking
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a preliminary look at the
Antichrist, we will talk about
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the Antichrist, but
remember, the focus of the book
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of Revelation is not the
Antichrist, it's Jesus Christ.
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Tonight we will actually
be taking a preliminary look
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at who this Antichrist
figure is, and what he intends
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to do.
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So let's begin by
looking at our study guide,
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hopefully everyone of
you has a study guide.
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I want to reiterate that if you
bring friend, Nathan said this,
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I want to reiterate it, by
all means, you bring 5 friends,
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you get 5 free CDs, you
bring 10 friends, you get
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10 free CDs, listen, we
are not about making money,
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I couldn't care less
about that, we want this message
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to get out.
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So notice this with me, we're
right there on the study guide,
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you have that there in
front of you, and we'll begin
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by looking at the
opening 2 paragraphs.
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It says: If God is so
good, how many of you believe
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that God is good? I
believe the very same thing,
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that's exactly
right, God is good.
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It says: If God is
good then why does the world
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seem so bad most of the
time? Why do bad things happen
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to good people, and why does
there have to be so much pain,
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suffering and
sorrow in the world today?
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What is going on?
Next paragraph: These are
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all legitimate
questions and good questions.
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Some people think that there
are no answers to questions
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like these; this is the very
kind of question that I used
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to ask as a skeptic when a
Christian would try to witness
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to me at high school, or at the
university I was studying at,
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tried to tell me about
Jesus and how Jesus saves,
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and I would just say: "Come
on now, if your God is so good,"
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"then explain all the
pain, suffering, death, disease"
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"in the world", and I
would just blow them off.
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Most of them, unfortunately,
could not give good,
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compelling, Biblical answers
to that very simple question.
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Notice the rest, it
says: Some people think that
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there aren't answer to questions
like these; I used to be
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one of those
people. They are wrong.
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The Bible gives the
answers to these questions,
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they are not pat or easy
answers, but they are good,
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powerful and
even logical answers.
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Suffering, pain and
death are terrible indeed,
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but the Bible, and the Bible
only, can give us a compelling
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context with which to
understand these things.
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Behind it all the heart of
God cries out for the devotion,
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salvation and
worship of His people.
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I'm looking forward to tonight's
message, but before we get
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right into the Bible,
we're going to first pray.
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You're going to discover that
your capacity and your ability
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to understand spiritual
things, if you've not already
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discovered this, is
not primarily based upon
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your intelligence or your
education, it's based upon
00:09:03.13\00:09:06.46
your willingness to submit
yourself to the One who wrote
00:09:06.50\00:09:09.80
the Bible, are we
all together on that?
00:09:09.83\00:09:11.99
The simplest way I know how
to communicate that is this:
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"I will" is more
important than "I.Q."
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The Bible says spiritual things
are spiritually discerned,
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so it's not "my intelligence"
or "my degree", or whatever
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it might be that helps
me to understand this book,
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the Bible says that
spiritual things are spiritually
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understood, so we have to pray
and ask the author of the book
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to become the
instructor in the book.
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That's why we pray, we
don't just pray as a formality
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and say: "Well, you know,
it's a religious meeting,"
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"we might as well
pray." Not at all.
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When we pray we are
very seriously asking the God
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who inspired the book to
now come down into this room
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and be the one who
instructs in this book.
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So let's begin
with a word of prayer.
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Father in heaven, we pause
for a moment because we do not
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take these things lightly,
we don't take these things
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serendipitously Father,
this is serious, and we want
00:10:02.29\00:10:05.81
to understand Your
word for us in these strange
00:10:05.84\00:10:08.67
and unusual times
in which we're living.
00:10:08.70\00:10:11.25
Father, this is the Discover
Prophecy Seminar, we want
00:10:11.29\00:10:15.41
to know better and
Biblically just what is coming
00:10:15.44\00:10:19.09
upon the world. So
Father, tonight as we
00:10:19.12\00:10:21.99
open Your word we ask the
You would open our hearts.
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You have told us that
spiritual things are spiritually
00:10:25.36\00:10:28.58
understood, so tonight clear
away the debris from our minds,
00:10:28.62\00:10:32.59
the distractions from our minds
and give us, over the course
00:10:32.62\00:10:36.56
of the next 50 minutes or
so, a sense of focus on You
00:10:36.59\00:10:41.34
and Your word, and Your will
and Your plan for our lives.
00:10:41.38\00:10:46.06
Help us Father to have more than
just an intellectual exercise
00:10:46.10\00:10:50.07
and experience. Help
us to submit and surrender
00:10:50.10\00:10:53.92
ourselves to Your
word and to Your will,
00:10:53.95\00:10:57.41
for we ask it in Jesus'
name, let all of God's people
00:10:57.45\00:11:00.96
say amen.
Alright, let's get into our
00:11:00.99\00:11:04.33
topic, open your Bibles to
the first book of the Bible,
00:11:04.37\00:11:08.48
the book of Genesis. Genesis 1.
00:11:08.51\00:11:15.07
You'll notice your
study guide subheading says:
00:11:15.11\00:11:17.53
"In the beginning God and good."
00:11:17.56\00:11:23.05
In order to understand the
present condition of our world,
00:11:23.09\00:11:26.29
we must first understand its
original condition as it came
00:11:26.32\00:11:29.49
fresh from God's
hand. What was that original
00:11:29.52\00:11:33.54
condition described in
Genesis, the book of beginnings.
00:11:33.58\00:11:36.45
Note the following verses,
I've given you a list of them,
00:11:36.48\00:11:39.28
we'll just look at them quickly.
I'm beginning in Genesis 1:1:
00:11:39.32\00:11:42.94
"In the beginning God created
the heaven's and the earth."
00:11:42.98\00:11:46.08
"The earth was without form
and void, and darkness was upon"
00:11:46.11\00:11:48.81
"the face of the deep, and
the Spirit of God was hovering"
00:11:48.85\00:11:51.79
"over the face of the waters.
Then God said, Let there"
00:11:51.83\00:11:56.26
"be light, and there was
light. And God saw the light"
00:11:56.29\00:12:00.26
"that it was good, and
God divided the light from"
00:12:00.30\00:12:04.24
"the darkness."
Jump down to verse 10.
00:12:04.27\00:12:06.20
"And God called the dry
land earth and the gathering"
00:12:06.24\00:12:09.31
"together of the waters
he called seas, and God saw"
00:12:09.34\00:12:12.38
"that it was
good." Notice verse 12:
00:12:12.41\00:12:15.24
"and the earth brought
forth grass and the herb"
00:12:15.28\00:12:17.34
"that yields seed according
to its kind, and the tree"
00:12:17.38\00:12:19.77
"that yields fruit, who's
seed is in itself, according"
00:12:19.81\00:12:22.17
"to its kind, and God
saw that it was good."
00:12:22.20\00:12:25.51
Verse 18: "And to rule over
the day and over the night,"
00:12:25.55\00:12:28.24
"and to divide the light
from the darkness, and God saw"
00:12:28.27\00:12:30.93
"that it was good."
Verse 21: "So God created"
00:12:30.96\00:12:34.47
"great sea creatures and
every living thing that moves"
00:12:34.51\00:12:37.53
"with which the
waters abounded according"
00:12:37.56\00:12:39.67
"to their kind, every winged
bird according to its kind,"
00:12:39.71\00:12:43.16
"and God saw that it was
good." Verse 25: "And God made"
00:12:43.20\00:12:46.62
"the beasts of the
earth according to its kind,"
00:12:46.65\00:12:48.84
"cattle according to its
kind and everything that creeps"
00:12:48.88\00:12:50.85
"on the earth according
to it kind, and God saw"
00:12:50.88\00:12:53.21
"that it was good."
Verse 31, the last verse
00:12:53.24\00:12:55.50
of the chapter: "Then God
saw everything that He had made"
00:12:55.54\00:12:59.45
"and indeed it was very good,
so the evening and morning"
00:12:59.49\00:13:03.37
"were the 6th day."
7 times in Genesis 1,
00:13:03.40\00:13:06.77
7 times in the
creation account Moses records
00:13:06.80\00:13:11.16
under the inspiration
of God, "it was good."
00:13:11.19\00:13:15.48
And then when He comes to the
end He says it was very good,
00:13:15.52\00:13:19.30
so we can safely surmise
that in the beginning everything
00:13:19.34\00:13:23.09
was good.
00:13:23.12\00:13:26.45
There are many words that you
could use to describe the world
00:13:26.49\00:13:28.99
that we are living in
today, and there are certainly
00:13:29.02\00:13:31.75
good things, there are
certainly wonderful things
00:13:31.78\00:13:34.44
in the world today, but good
would probably not be at the top
00:13:34.48\00:13:38.74
of the list. Just
last night we looked
00:13:38.77\00:13:41.54
at 10 signs of the times, and
unfortunately, all but 1 of them
00:13:41.58\00:13:45.77
was bad news. The
only 1 that is good news
00:13:45.80\00:13:49.14
was the 10th one, and
that's that the gospel is going
00:13:49.18\00:13:52.60
to all the world, and that's
the greatest of the great news.
00:13:52.64\00:13:55.92
The reality is that we live in a
world that is wracked with pain,
00:13:55.96\00:13:59.58
and suffering, and sickness,
and death, and disease.
00:13:59.61\00:14:03.36
What happened?
00:14:03.39\00:14:05.36
In the beginning everything
was good, it was even very good.
00:14:05.40\00:14:10.84
Notice the next paragraph, this
point is highly instructive.
00:14:10.87\00:14:16.24
In Genesis 1 and 2, before
the entrance of sin, the world
00:14:16.27\00:14:21.61
was perfect, beautiful
and untainted by death,
00:14:21.64\00:14:25.60
disease or pain, a
perfect couple - Adam and Eve
00:14:25.64\00:14:29.53
of course - in perfect
love, in a perfect environment,
00:14:29.57\00:14:33.18
with a perfect God.
You can't get much more
00:14:33.21\00:14:35.34
perfect than that.
So then, what happened
00:14:35.38\00:14:37.90
to create the state
of affairs we see today?
00:14:37.94\00:14:40.39
Pain, and suffering, and
death, and disease are the rule,
00:14:40.43\00:14:43.36
not the exceptions. In
order to understand this
00:14:43.39\00:14:46.71
go with me to the first
book of the Old Testament
00:14:46.74\00:14:49.99
to the first book of the New
Testament, what book is that?
00:14:50.03\00:14:53.49
Matthew 13, go there with me.
00:14:53.52\00:14:56.68
Again, if you have
somebody sitting next to you
00:14:56.72\00:14:59.26
who is not getting to
the verses or the chapters
00:14:59.29\00:15:01.87
quite as quickly as
you, be sure to help them.
00:15:01.91\00:15:05.72
Matthew 13, here we
find Jesus telling a parable.
00:15:05.75\00:15:09.98
A parable is a simple
story that illustrates a larger
00:15:10.01\00:15:14.21
spiritual truth. Matthew 13.
00:15:14.24\00:15:19.11
We're going to take a look
at a parable in which Jesus
00:15:19.15\00:15:21.54
describes a man
who planted a field.
00:15:21.57\00:15:26.28
Notice in your study
guide: In Matthew 13:24-30
00:15:26.32\00:15:30.85
Jesus tells a parable,
that is a story that illustrates
00:15:30.89\00:15:33.56
a spiritual truth,
about a field that was planted
00:15:33.59\00:15:36.96
by a farmer. In
verse 37-43 He explains
00:15:36.99\00:15:40.68
the parable, let's look
at this parable together.
00:15:40.72\00:15:43.41
Matthew 13:24, are we all there?
00:15:43.44\00:15:50.64
"Another parable He
put forth to them saying:"
00:15:50.68\00:15:55.03
"the kingdom of heaven
is like a man who sowed"
00:15:55.06\00:15:59.34
"good seed" - there's our
word again, that's the same word
00:15:59.38\00:16:02.47
that we saw in
Genesis 1, isn't it?
00:16:02.50\00:16:04.96
Verse 25: "But while men
slept his enemy came and sowed"
00:16:05.00\00:16:07.80
"tares" - that is
weeds, "among the wheat"
00:16:07.83\00:16:10.06
"and went his way, but when the
grain had sprouted and produced"
00:16:10.10\00:16:13.28
"a crop, and the tares
also appeared, so the servants"
00:16:13.31\00:16:16.88
"of the owner came and said
to him, Sir, did you not sow"
00:16:16.91\00:16:20.06
"good seed in your field?
How then does it have tares?"
00:16:20.09\00:16:23.21
In other words, where
did the weeds come from?
00:16:23.24\00:16:25.79
Verse 28: "He said to
them, An enemy has done this."
00:16:25.83\00:16:28.69
"The servants said to
him, O, would you like us then"
00:16:28.73\00:16:31.56
"to go and gather
them up? But he said no,"
00:16:31.59\00:16:33.88
"lest while you gather up the
tares you also uproot the wheat"
00:16:33.92\00:16:36.23
"with them. Let
both grow together"
00:16:36.26\00:16:39.99
"until the harvest, and
at the time of the harvest"
00:16:40.03\00:16:43.01
"I will say to the
reapers, First gather the tears"
00:16:43.05\00:16:46.00
"and bind them in
bundles to burn them,"
00:16:46.03\00:16:48.14
"but gather the
wheat into my barn."
00:16:48.17\00:16:50.21
Now, we don't have to
wonder, we don't have to guess,
00:16:50.25\00:16:52.91
we don't have to conjecture
as to what this parable means
00:16:52.94\00:16:55.57
because Jesus gives us
the interpretation beginning
00:16:55.60\00:16:58.28
in verse 37, go to verse 37:
"He answered and said to them,"
00:16:58.32\00:17:02.60
"He who sows the good
seed is the Son of Man,"
00:17:02.63\00:17:06.94
who's the Son of
man? Jesus Christ.
00:17:06.97\00:17:09.93
Verse 38: "The field is
the world, the good seeds",
00:17:09.97\00:17:14.14
4 times He uses that phrase
if you're paying attention,
00:17:14.17\00:17:18.31
He says it's
"good seed" 4 times.
00:17:18.34\00:17:22.64
"The good seeds are the sons
of the kingdom, but the tares"
00:17:22.68\00:17:26.82
"are the sons of the wicked
one. The enemy who sowed them"
00:17:26.85\00:17:30.96
"is the Devil, the
harvest is the end of the age,"
00:17:30.99\00:17:35.12
"and the
reapers are the angels."
00:17:35.15\00:17:37.76
Fascinating. Jesus
tells a very simple story,
00:17:37.80\00:17:40.66
not difficult to understand,
He says it's a story of man,
00:17:40.70\00:17:43.04
he went out and he
sowed some seed in his field.
00:17:43.07\00:17:45.87
The workers, and all of those
who were working in the field
00:17:45.91\00:17:49.08
had seen him sow the good seed,
they knew that it was good seed,
00:17:49.12\00:17:52.52
but later when they came back
to investigate there was weeds
00:17:52.55\00:17:55.92
among the wheat, and
they went to the man and said:
00:17:55.95\00:17:58.03
"hey, didn't you sow
good seed in your field?"
00:17:58.06\00:18:00.39
"Where did the weeds
come from?", and here's what
00:18:00.42\00:18:02.68
I want you to notice: in
the parable Jesus does not have
00:18:02.72\00:18:05.79
the man saying: "Well, when
you weren't looking I snuck"
00:18:05.83\00:18:08.87
"some bad stuff
in with the good".
00:18:08.90\00:18:11.69
What Jesus says is 5
words, 5 of the most important
00:18:11.73\00:18:16.19
words in all of the
Bible, "An enemy has done this."
00:18:16.22\00:18:20.47
Let's say that together:
"An enemy has done this".
00:18:20.51\00:18:24.03
Look at the top of the
study guide: what kind of seed
00:18:24.07\00:18:27.56
was originally sown
in the field? Good seed.
00:18:27.59\00:18:30.68
This agrees perfectly
with Genesis, it began good,
00:18:30.72\00:18:34.48
even very good.
According to verse 28
00:18:34.51\00:18:37.00
who planet the weeds? An enemy.
00:18:37.03\00:18:40.08
In verse 39 Jesus identifies
this enemy and He says
00:18:40.12\00:18:43.34
that enemy was who? The Devil.
00:18:43.37\00:18:46.17
Here's something I want
you to get a hold of, this is
00:18:46.21\00:18:50.62
a fascinating concept:
Jesus accepted no personal
00:18:50.66\00:18:55.04
responsibility for
the presence of weeds.
00:18:55.07\00:18:58.29
I want to say that again: in
the parable Jesus does not have
00:18:58.33\00:19:01.58
the man who sowed the seed,
being Jesus, the Son of man,
00:19:01.62\00:19:04.90
accepting any responsibility
for the presence of tares,
00:19:04.93\00:19:08.18
He says 5 words: an
enemy has done this.
00:19:08.21\00:19:16.40
Well, who is this enemy?
Go with me from Matthew 13
00:19:16.44\00:19:21.37
to Luke 13, you're in
Matthew, the next book is Mark,
00:19:21.41\00:19:25.27
and the next book is
Luke. Matthew, Mark, we're going
00:19:25.30\00:19:29.13
to Luke 13. >From
Matthew 13 to Luke 13.
00:19:29.16\00:19:33.84
Incidentally, we're working
our way towards Revelation 13,
00:19:34.93\00:19:37.63
we're going to spend a fairly
significant amount of time
00:19:37.67\00:19:40.34
tonight talking about
the Antichrist, but we need
00:19:40.37\00:19:42.81
to work our way there
so we can understand it
00:19:42.85\00:19:45.26
in a Biblically holistic manner.
00:19:45.29\00:19:48.37
Luke 13, Jesus tells a
story, it's actually not a story
00:19:48.41\00:19:55.73
that He tells as a parable, it's
the recounting of an experience
00:19:55.77\00:19:58.68
that Jesus had. Luke 13:10:
00:19:58.71\00:20:04.68
"Now He was teaching
in one of the Synagogues"
00:20:04.72\00:20:07.50
"on the Sabbath, and
there was a woman who had"
00:20:07.53\00:20:10.24
"a spirit of infirmity 18
years, and she was bent over"
00:20:10.28\00:20:15.57
"and could in no
ways raise herself up."
00:20:15.60\00:20:18.06
"But when Jesus saw
her He called her to Him"
00:20:18.10\00:20:20.51
"and He said to her, Woman, you
are loosed from your infirmity,"
00:20:20.55\00:20:24.42
from your sickness, "and
He laid His hands on her"
00:20:24.45\00:20:27.22
"and immediately she was made
straight and glorified God."
00:20:27.26\00:20:31.50
Verse 14: "But the ruler
of the Synagogue answered"
00:20:31.53\00:20:34.06
"with indignation because
Jesus had healed on the Sabbath"
00:20:34.10\00:20:37.38
"and he said to the crowd,
There are 6 days in which men"
00:20:37.41\00:20:40.39
"aught to work, therefore
come and be healed on them"
00:20:40.42\00:20:43.81
"and not on the Sabbath
day. Then the Lord answered"
00:20:43.84\00:20:47.16
"and said, Hypocrite," Jesus was
not being a name caller here,
00:20:47.20\00:20:50.41
the word "hypocrite" comes from
the Greek word "hypokrites",
00:20:50.45\00:20:53.63
which means "actor",
Jesus says "You're an actor,"
00:20:53.66\00:20:56.25
"you're wearing religious
clothes, you're talking"
00:20:56.28\00:20:58.67
"religious language,
you're hanging out in religious"
00:20:58.71\00:21:01.07
"places, but
really you're an actor."
00:21:01.10\00:21:03.41
"Actor", He says, "does not"
00:21:03.44\00:21:05.33
"each one of you on the
Sabbath lose his ox or a donkey"
00:21:05.37\00:21:08.32
"from the stall and
lead it away to water it?"
00:21:08.35\00:21:10.15
Now look at verse 16,
fascinating, there are 4 words
00:21:10.19\00:21:14.30
that are central to this
text, "So aught not this woman,"
00:21:14.34\00:21:18.00
"being a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan has bound",
00:21:18.03\00:21:22.18
"think of it for 18
years, be loosed from this bond"
00:21:22.22\00:21:26.34
"on the Sabbath
day?" What are the 4 words
00:21:26.37\00:21:29.75
in verse 16:
"whom Satan has bound".
00:21:29.78\00:21:34.85
Notice again, does Jesus
take any responsibility for
00:21:34.89\00:21:38.43
the woman's condition in
her infirmed state, yes or no?
00:21:38.46\00:21:41.93
None at all, in fact, it's just
like the Devil to bend you over,
00:21:41.97\00:21:45.73
and it's just like
Jesus to straighten you up.
00:21:45.76\00:21:49.59
Notice what He says
here: "Aught not this woman,"
00:21:49.63\00:21:54.17
"being a daughter of
Abraham, whom Satan has bound".
00:21:54.20\00:21:58.17
Fascinating, just like
those 5 words in Matthew 13,
00:21:58.21\00:22:02.15
"An enemy has done
this", here He says,
00:22:02.18\00:22:05.33
"whom Satan has bound",
takes no personal responsibility
00:22:05.37\00:22:09.09
for her sickness, but gets all
of the glory for her wellness.
00:22:09.13\00:22:14.67
"An enemy has done
this." Look at your study guide,
00:22:14.70\00:22:17.70
let's fill in the blanks.
00:22:17.73\00:22:21.02
Look at the study guide:
Here is an essential point,
00:22:21.06\00:22:23.27
Jesus confirms what
Genesis described, namely,
00:22:23.30\00:22:25.80
that God made things very good.
According to Jesus the Devil
00:22:25.84\00:22:30.11
is the one who has ruined
it, he is the responsible party.
00:22:30.14\00:22:34.03
Read Luke 13:10-16, which
we've just done, in this story
00:22:34.07\00:22:37.93
who does Jesus credit
for binding the woman?
00:22:37.96\00:22:41.81
Satan. The word "Satan" is a
00:22:41.84\00:22:44.77
transliteration of the Hebrew
"satan", it's a Hebrew word,
00:22:44.81\00:22:52.67
and the word
simply means "an enemy",
00:22:52.70\00:22:58.56
or "an opponent", or
"an adversary", that is
00:22:58.60\00:23:02.17
"one who stands
against." Just as Jesus had said
00:23:02.21\00:23:05.45
"An enemy has done
this", so too here He says:
00:23:05.48\00:23:09.35
"Satan, the enemy, the
opponent, the adversary,"
00:23:09.38\00:23:13.20
"put this woman into
her infirmed condition."
00:23:13.24\00:23:17.36
You're in Luke 13, go
to Luke 10, just 3 chapters
00:23:17.40\00:23:21.49
before that, Luke 10.
00:23:21.52\00:23:27.83
Luke 10, notice verse 18,
Jesus speaking: [text on screen]
00:23:28.70\00:23:36.63
I want to just say
something right at the outset:
00:23:48.77\00:23:51.97
some people say there is
no such thing as the Devil.
00:23:52.00\00:23:55.17
How many of you
have heard that before?
00:23:55.20\00:23:57.64
You've talked to somebody
about these kinds of things,
00:23:57.68\00:24:00.29
they say: "Aww, there's
no such thing as the Devil!"
00:24:00.32\00:24:02.86
Raise your hand if you've
heard that before, sure you have
00:24:02.90\00:24:05.50
Let me say something
here: [text on screen]
00:24:05.53\00:24:08.58
Notice what Jesus says
here, fascinating, Luke 10:18:
00:24:10.34\00:24:14.18
"I saw Satan fall like
lightning from heaven."
00:24:14.21\00:24:22.14
Satan's hometown is where?
I want you to notice something
00:24:22.17\00:24:27.20
very interesting,
Jesus uses the word "fall".
00:24:27.23\00:24:33.12
You can fill in the blanks:
Satan's hometown is where?
00:24:33.16\00:24:35.43
"I saw Satan fall like lightning
from heaven", the word "satan"
00:24:35.47\00:24:38.49
means "enemy" or "adversary",
so you're right up to speed.
00:24:38.52\00:24:40.93
I want you to think
about something, if I'm walking
00:24:40.96\00:24:43.18
down the street with
Nathan, and Nathan can be
00:24:43.21\00:24:45.58
a little bit of mischievous
person every now and then,
00:24:45.62\00:24:48.02
you've probably pick that
up already, and let's just say
00:24:48.06\00:24:50.49
that Nathan is feeling
like a little bit of a rascal
00:24:50.53\00:24:52.89
and he pushes me down, which
he's never done up to this point
00:24:52.93\00:24:56.32
but he might some day,
I don't ever let him get
00:24:56.35\00:24:59.22
right behind me, but
anyway, [Audience laughs]
00:24:59.26\00:25:01.76
if he pushes me down, who's
fault would my falling down be?
00:25:01.80\00:25:06.09
Nathan says
"yours", no, it would be his.
00:25:06.76\00:25:10.08
But now I want you to
imagine, if I was walking
00:25:10.12\00:25:12.57
all by myself and I tripped
and no one else was around
00:25:12.61\00:25:17.25
me to push me down or coerce
me, who's fault would it be now?
00:25:17.29\00:25:20.16
It would be my fault, unless of
course, if you live in the USA
00:25:20.20\00:25:23.04
and there was a little
crack there, and we'd say:
00:25:23.07\00:25:25.74
"Oh, you know, it's the
municipalities department"
00:25:25.77\00:25:28.37
"because the crack is too big,
no personal responsibility."
00:25:28.41\00:25:31.61
The point here is I want
you to notice what Jesus says;
00:25:31.64\00:25:34.81
He doesn't say: "I
pushed Satan", He doesn't say:
00:25:34.84\00:25:37.89
"I kicked him out", what
He says is: "I saw Satan fall"
00:25:37.93\00:25:42.27
"like lightning from heaven."
What we're going to discover
00:25:42.30\00:25:46.61
this evening is that
the responsibility and
00:25:46.64\00:25:49.85
the culpability for his actions
are his, that the responsibility
00:25:49.89\00:25:56.23
rests upon his shoulders.
Notice our study guide:
00:25:56.26\00:26:00.31
What happened in
heaven? Is Jesus really saying
00:26:00.34\00:26:04.32
that Satan, this character
"The Devil", came from heaven?
00:26:04.36\00:26:07.91
That's exactly what He's
saying. Ezekiel the prophet,
00:26:07.94\00:26:10.65
go with me in your
Bibles to the book of Ezekiel,
00:26:10.69\00:26:12.98
that might take you a
little bit to find, I actually
00:26:13.02\00:26:15.28
just opened right to
it, Lord, praise His name.
00:26:15.31\00:26:18.20
So you open it up, you'll
be right in Psalms probably,
00:26:18.24\00:26:22.10
and then you can go to
Isaiah, and then Jeremiah,
00:26:22.13\00:26:24.61
and then
Lamentations, and then Ezekiel.
00:26:24.64\00:26:27.76
You can find Ezekiel,
it's one of the larger books
00:26:27.80\00:26:29.52
in the Old
Testament. Ezekiel 28.
00:26:29.55\00:26:36.37
Here we find Ezekiel
comparing Satan to an ancient
00:26:36.41\00:26:43.46
and evil king, the
king of Tyre, Ezekiel 28:11.
00:26:43.49\00:26:48.22
I want you to notice
that as we read this passage
00:26:48.25\00:26:52.95
the word
"perfect" occurs 3 times.
00:26:52.98\00:26:58.88
Ezekiel 28:11: "Moreover,
the word of the Lord came to me"
00:26:58.92\00:27:02.93
"saying, Son of man,"
that's God speaking to Ezekiel,
00:27:02.96\00:27:06.84
"take up a lamentation",
or cry, "for the king of Tyre"
00:27:06.88\00:27:10.73
"and say to him, Thus
sayeth the Lord, God".
00:27:10.76\00:27:12.67
Some people say: "This
doesn't have anything to do"
00:27:12.71\00:27:15.41
"with the Devil, this doesn't
have anything to do with"
00:27:15.45\00:27:18.12
"Satan, this is only
the king of Tyre", hardly!
00:27:18.15\00:27:20.78
What Ezekiel is doing
under the inspiration of God,
00:27:20.82\00:27:23.52
God is saying: "Listen,
I'm going to talk to you"
00:27:23.55\00:27:26.23
"about this power, this
evil man, the king of Tyre,"
00:27:26.26\00:27:28.82
"but what I'm really interested
in is the power behind"
00:27:28.86\00:27:31.50
"the king of Tyre." It'll
be a little bit like saying:
00:27:31.53\00:27:34.31
"I want to talk to you
about Hitler", but Hitler is not
00:27:34.34\00:27:36.94
an end in himself,
there's some power behind Hitler
00:27:36.98\00:27:39.63
that caused Hitler to be a
Hitler, or a Mussolini to be
00:27:39.66\00:27:42.28
a Mussolini, or a Mao
Zedong to be a Mao Zedong,
00:27:42.31\00:27:44.85
He says: "Take up a lamentation
for the king of Tyre,"
00:27:44.89\00:27:48.01
and then He begins to
tell us about this power,
00:27:48.04\00:27:50.72
this angelic rebellious
power behind the King of Tyre.
00:27:50.76\00:27:55.63
Notice the rest of
verse 12: "You were the seal"
00:27:55.66\00:27:58.91
"of perfection," - I
would underline in your Bible
00:27:58.95\00:28:02.17
if you're in the custom
of underlining in your Bible,
00:28:02.21\00:28:04.67
"full of wisdom
and perfect in beauty."
00:28:04.70\00:28:07.86
Notice 2 times right
out of the gate He says:
00:28:07.90\00:28:12.54
"You were perfect."
Verse 13: "You were in Eden."
00:28:12.57\00:28:16.80
Quick question for you,
was the king of Tyre in Eden?
00:28:16.83\00:28:21.03
No, but was Satan in
Eden? Absolutely, he was.
00:28:21.06\00:28:25.52
"You were in Eden,
the garden of God."
00:28:25.55\00:28:28.69
"Every precious stone was your
covering, the sardius, topaz"
00:28:28.73\00:28:33.02
"and diamond, the beryl, onix
and jasper, sapphire, turquoise"
00:28:33.05\00:28:37.31
"and emerald with gold, the
workmanship of your timbrels"
00:28:37.34\00:28:41.42
"and pipes was prepared for you
on the day you were created."
00:28:41.46\00:28:46.29
So he was created. Verse 14:
"You were the anointed cherub"
00:28:46.33\00:28:51.11
"who covers, I established you,
you were on the Holy Mountain"
00:28:51.15\00:28:55.90
"of God, you walked
back and forth in the midst"
00:28:55.93\00:28:59.02
"of the fiery stones,"
notice it again in verse 15,
00:28:59.06\00:29:02.08
"you were perfect in your ways
from the day you were created"
00:29:02.12\00:29:08.05
"until iniquity
was found in you."
00:29:08.08\00:29:13.43
Here the prophet Ezekiel,
under the inspiration of God,
00:29:13.47\00:29:16.84
is basically tearing
back the curtain, tearing back
00:29:16.88\00:29:19.99
the seen from the unseen
in the same way that we might
00:29:20.03\00:29:23.15
separate this wall; this
wall was up the first night
00:29:23.18\00:29:25.54
and there were so many
people here we had to open
00:29:25.57\00:29:27.96
the wall and we get to
see what's on the other side
00:29:28.00\00:29:30.68
that's basically what God
is doing through the prophet
00:29:30.72\00:29:33.37
Ezekiel, He's tearing
back the wall so we can see
00:29:33.40\00:29:35.71
what's going on
behind the scenes.
00:29:35.74\00:29:38.93
Many of you have been to
a movie before, or a play,
00:29:38.97\00:29:41.38
and what's happening on the play
and stage is only just the part
00:29:41.42\00:29:45.59
that you get to see, what's
really happening is behind
00:29:45.62\00:29:48.68
the scenes. The
prophet Ezekiel says:
00:29:48.71\00:29:52.55
"You were created
perfect" 3 times, who would have
00:29:52.59\00:29:58.48
created him? God,
00:29:58.51\00:30:01.23
and he says it 3 times:
"You were created perfectly".
00:30:01.27\00:30:05.60
He says "you were the anointed
cherub", what is a cherub?
00:30:07.84\00:30:12.90
That's an angel.
Look at that again.
00:30:12.93\00:30:16.05
Verse 14, "You were the
anointed cherub who covers".
00:30:16.09\00:30:20.77
That is unusual language,
that is sanctuary language.
00:30:20.80\00:30:25.45
You say: "What is
sanctuary language?"
00:30:25.48\00:30:27.83
Very simple. In
the Israelite economy,
00:30:27.86\00:30:30.14
the most important building
in all of the Israelite economy
00:30:30.18\00:30:32.99
was the sanctuary,
later became Solomon's temple.
00:30:33.02\00:30:36.39
The temple consisted of 3 parts.
00:30:36.42\00:30:41.12
You had the courtyard,
which was in the outside,
00:30:41.16\00:30:44.28
the outer court, and
then if you walked into it
00:30:44.32\00:30:47.25
you had the Holy Place,
and then you walked into
00:30:47.28\00:30:50.28
the Most Holy Place.
There were several articles
00:30:50.32\00:30:53.29
of furniture. In
the courtyard you had
00:30:53.32\00:30:55.22
the altar, in the Holy Place
you had the altar of incense,
00:30:55.26\00:30:57.94
and the table of
showbread, and the lamp stand,
00:30:57.97\00:31:00.64
but if you went into the
Most Holy Place there was
00:31:00.68\00:31:04.00
only 1 article of divine
furniture, what was that?
00:31:04.03\00:31:07.28
That was the Ark of the
Covenant, you saw Harrison Ford
00:31:07.32\00:31:09.56
in the movie,
"Raiders of the Lost Ark".
00:31:09.59\00:31:13.44
There was the Ark of the
Covenant and it was basically
00:31:13.48\00:31:16.45
a glorified box.
In that golden box,
00:31:16.48\00:31:19.76
what was in
there? Does anyone know?
00:31:19.79\00:31:23.00
There were several articles,
but the most important article
00:31:23.04\00:31:25.19
was the very 10
commandment stones, and on top
00:31:25.22\00:31:28.88
of that box, that was
called the mercy seat,
00:31:28.92\00:31:32.68
and there were 2
carved angels that came up,
00:31:32.71\00:31:36.40
representing the very angels
that dwelled in the presence
00:31:36.44\00:31:40.38
of God. Between those 2 angels
00:31:40.41\00:31:43.46
there was a supernatural
light that radiated from
00:31:43.50\00:31:46.88
the Most Holy Place of
the sanctuary, that light
00:31:46.91\00:31:50.22
was called "The Shekinah Glory".
Like it says in Psalm 80:1:
00:31:50.26\00:31:56.84
"Give ear, O Shepherd of
Israel, Thou that dwellest"
00:31:56.87\00:31:59.57
"between the
cherubim, shine forth."
00:31:59.60\00:32:03.75
That was the very presence
of God in the Most Holy Place,
00:32:03.79\00:32:06.83
and those carved angels
represented the very angels
00:32:06.86\00:32:11.59
that stood in God's immediate
in presence, in heaven,
00:32:11.63\00:32:16.33
around His
throne. When Ezekiel says:
00:32:16.36\00:32:19.13
"You were the
anointed cherub that covers,"
00:32:19.17\00:32:21.20
what he's saying is:
"You were one of the angels"
00:32:21.24\00:32:24.25
"that dwelt in
God's immediate presence."
00:32:24.28\00:32:28.68
Fascinating.
00:32:29.08\00:32:32.12
Look at your study
guide, fill those in.
00:32:32.48\00:32:35.67
"You were in the
garden of Eden", verse 14 says
00:32:35.71\00:32:39.69
"You were the anointed
cherub" which is an angel.
00:32:39.73\00:32:43.64
Notice the next paragraph:
This angel was created perfect.
00:32:43.68\00:32:49.47
1 aspect of that perfection
was that God invested him
00:32:49.50\00:32:54.24
with genuine free will,
that is the ability to make
00:32:54.27\00:32:58.98
his own choices.
Underline this next part,
00:32:59.01\00:33:03.37
I've put it in italics,
but it is absolutely essential.
00:33:03.41\00:33:07.32
True love in order to
be love must have the right
00:33:07.35\00:33:12.62
to say no.
00:33:12.65\00:33:17.01
What makes love so
special is that it is voluntary.
00:33:17.05\00:33:22.89
If love wasn't
voluntary, if love was forced,
00:33:22.92\00:33:26.13
it wouldn't be love at all.
In fact, in the English language
00:33:26.17\00:33:28.50
we have a very ugly
word for forced love,
00:33:28.53\00:33:31.58
we call that "rape".
Love in order to be love
00:33:31.61\00:33:34.73
has to have the right,
has to have the potential,
00:33:34.77\00:33:38.44
has to have the prerogative
to say "no thank you."
00:33:38.47\00:33:42.11
In order for love to be
what God intended it to be,
00:33:43.70\00:33:47.31
we have to have the
opportunity to say no.
00:33:47.34\00:33:50.68
April 4th, 1999, I was married
to the most beautiful woman
00:33:50.72\00:33:53.42
I've ever seen in my
entire life, and she's sitting
00:33:53.45\00:33:56.13
right there in the front
row, it was a lovely wedding,
00:33:56.17\00:33:58.82
the most beautiful
wedding I've ever been to.
00:33:58.85\00:34:01.67
[Audience laughs]
00:34:01.70\00:34:03.07
Everything looked great, except
the groom, and he looked okay.
00:34:03.11\00:34:07.92
[Audience laughs]
00:34:07.95\00:34:10.76
And I remember my wife coming
down the aisle of that church
00:34:10.79\00:34:14.69
in her beautiful, resplendent,
radiant glory, and as she walked
00:34:14.72\00:34:18.61
down my knees began to
move like this, literally,
00:34:18.64\00:34:21.51
my knees began to shake.
I'll tell you a true story
00:34:21.54\00:34:24.15
very quickly, just about
3 months before, my wife's
00:34:24.18\00:34:26.76
brother, my brother
in law, had been married,
00:34:26.79\00:34:29.55
I had been asked to
stand in the wedding.
00:34:29.58\00:34:32.27
It was one of those
churches that have 4-6 steps
00:34:32.31\00:34:35.13
that lead up to the altar
and Falisha and Christian,
00:34:35.16\00:34:37.95
they were standing
at the altar like this,
00:34:37.98\00:34:40.67
and the groomsman went back
like that, and the bridesmaids
00:34:40.71\00:34:43.49
went back like that, and
I was the third groomsman
00:34:43.52\00:34:45.59
standing in the
middle of the stairs.
00:34:45.62\00:34:47.93
There was a
gentlemen just ahead of me,
00:34:47.96\00:34:50.20
and in the middle of the
wedding I noticed that he began
00:34:50.24\00:34:53.30
to sway, he began
to rock like this.
00:34:53.33\00:34:57.94
Literally, right in
the middle of the wedding
00:34:57.98\00:34:59.63
he fainted
directly into my arms.
00:34:59.66\00:35:03.34
I just saw him falling and I
caught him - right in the middle
00:35:03.38\00:35:06.12
of the wedding, and of course,
Falisha and Christian could hear
00:35:06.15\00:35:08.86
that something was going
on, but it was their wedding,
00:35:08.89\00:35:11.58
they didn't turn around
to see, so I had this guy
00:35:11.61\00:35:14.37
in my arms, several hundred
people there at the wedding
00:35:14.41\00:35:16.99
and I just picked him
up and carried him out.
00:35:17.02\00:35:19.25
Well, we got him into the
back and we slapped him around
00:35:19.29\00:35:21.33
a little bit, gave him a
little bit of orange juice
00:35:21.36\00:35:23.72
and he straightened up.
We actually got him back out,
00:35:23.76\00:35:26.23
he stood out there again
and Falisha and Christian
00:35:26.27\00:35:28.71
turned around,
walked out, didn't even know
00:35:28.74\00:35:31.04
what had
happened. [Audience laughs]
00:35:31.07\00:35:32.04
In fact, you can see it
right on the video, it was just
00:35:32.05\00:35:34.04
made to order. I
can just imagine,
00:35:34.07\00:35:35.72
the angels were at the
wedding, just enjoying it,
00:35:35.76\00:35:37.73
and they see this guy
begin to sway and they say:
00:35:37.76\00:35:39.84
"Get that guy!" and
they pushed him towards me
00:35:39.88\00:35:41.93
because he fell
perfectly into my arms.
00:35:41.96\00:35:44.34
If he'd fallen just a little
that way it would have been
00:35:44.38\00:35:47.04
a disaster. Well anyway,
I was married 3 months later
00:35:47.07\00:35:49.70
and a doctor friend of
mine was there and said
00:35:49.73\00:35:52.42
the reason that he fainted
is Nr.1- he probably didn't get
00:35:52.46\00:35:55.02
a good breakfast, and
Nr.2- he locked his knees.
00:35:55.05\00:35:57.07
So I had this phobia on my
wedding day of locking my knees.
00:35:57.11\00:36:00.03
[Audience laughs] I'm
telling you a true story,
00:36:00.06\00:36:02.78
my wife comes walking down
the aisle and she comes up,
00:36:02.82\00:36:07.14
and I'm standing there
like this: [shows position]
00:36:07.18\00:36:11.10
[Audience laughs] Have
you ever tried to stand
00:36:11.13\00:36:15.02
like this for a
long time? It's not easy!
00:36:15.05\00:36:18.39
So I started to kind of
shake like that, and my wife
00:36:18.43\00:36:20.96
says to me right there
in the ceremony, she says:
00:36:21.00\00:36:23.50
"What are you
doing?" [Audience laughs]
00:36:23.53\00:36:25.66
I said: "Sweetie, I'm trying
not to faint." [Audience laughs]
00:36:25.70\00:36:30.29
Anyway, praise the
Lord, I made it through,
00:36:30.32\00:36:32.89
I didn't faint, but here's
the point: there came a time
00:36:32.93\00:36:36.26
in that ceremony where
the minister turned to me
00:36:36.29\00:36:40.33
and said: "Do you take
this woman to be your lawfully"
00:36:40.37\00:36:42.29
"wedded..." "I do!!!"
00:36:42.32\00:36:44.64
And then he turned to her
and he said: "Do you take"
00:36:44.68\00:36:47.02
"this man to be your
lawfully wedded husband?"
00:36:47.05\00:36:49.78
And she said: "I
do." Praise the Lord!
00:36:49.81\00:36:54.80
And praise God there
was no pause there either,
00:36:54.84\00:36:57.50
she said: "I do", now
here's what made it so special:
00:36:57.54\00:37:03.13
nobody was standing there with
a gun when the minister said
00:37:03.17\00:37:07.65
"Do you?" This guy
stuck it in her ribs
00:37:07.68\00:37:11.49
and said: "You
better!" [Audience laughs]
00:37:11.52\00:37:15.26
What made her "I do" so special
is that she had the right
00:37:15.30\00:37:18.94
to say "I don't".
00:37:18.97\00:37:22.69
Beloved, think about
it from God's perspective.
00:37:24.48\00:37:27.63
God is a real God who
desires a real relationship
00:37:27.66\00:37:30.78
with real beings.
00:37:30.81\00:37:34.38
As 1 person has put it,
God would rather wrestle
00:37:34.42\00:37:37.68
with the stubborn will
of man than reign supreme
00:37:37.71\00:37:41.72
over rocks and trees.
God has given us this thing
00:37:41.76\00:37:45.74
called free will, it
is a dangerous thing,
00:37:45.77\00:37:49.05
but it is absolutely
essential if there's going to be
00:37:49.09\00:37:52.49
anything like true
love. Sometimes in the past
00:37:52.52\00:37:56.34
I've taken my computer out,
in fact, maybe I couldn't do it
00:37:56.38\00:37:59.19
exactly right now, but
I could sort of show you
00:37:59.23\00:38:01.78
what I do, I take out my
computer and I program it
00:38:01.81\00:38:04.24
to tell me that it loves
me. I take my computer out,
00:38:04.27\00:38:06.71
and I set it on a little
stage, I didn't do it this time
00:38:06.75\00:38:09.22
because I just wasn't
ready for it, and I set it there
00:38:09.26\00:38:11.55
and I saw: "Good evening
computer", and the computer says
00:38:11.59\00:38:13.85
"Good evening David". I
say: "How are you doing"
00:38:13.88\00:38:16.25
"this evening computer?"
And the computer says:
00:38:16.29\00:38:18.63
"I'm doing well."
And I say: "Computer..."
00:38:18.66\00:38:20.79
"Yes David", "...I love you."
00:38:20.82\00:38:22.93
And then it says:
"I love you too David."
00:38:22.97\00:38:25.62
Then it says: "I love
you, I love you, I love you,"
00:38:25.66\00:38:28.43
"love you, love, love,
love..." And when it's all done
00:38:28.46\00:38:31.20
I close the computer
and I ask this question:
00:38:31.23\00:38:33.40
"Do I fell any better now
that my computer loves me?"
00:38:33.44\00:38:37.89
Do I fell any better?
No. You want to know why?
00:38:37.92\00:38:41.17
The computer doesn't
have a choice not to love me.
00:38:41.21\00:38:45.04
I made the computer love
me. If we don't have a choice
00:38:45.07\00:38:48.87
in this thing, then
our love is non love.
00:38:48.90\00:38:52.73
Does that makes
sense? So God creates this
00:38:52.77\00:38:56.53
beautiful angelic creature
named "Lucifer", he dwells
00:38:56.57\00:39:01.63
in the very presence
of God, he was perfect,
00:39:01.66\00:39:04.36
but he had been entrusted
with a very dangerous thing
00:39:04.40\00:39:09.56
and that thing is the power
to choose, and he did choose.
00:39:09.59\00:39:14.72
Go to Isaiah 14.
00:39:14.75\00:39:19.66
In Isaiah 14, that's
just back through Jeremiah,
00:39:22.04\00:39:26.81
you get into Isaiah 14, we
being to see with a little more
00:39:26.85\00:39:29.83
detail what was happening
in the mind of that angel.
00:39:29.86\00:39:34.85
Isaiah 14, we're at the top
of page 3 [in study guides].
00:39:34.88\00:39:39.84
The prophet Isaiah gives
us a deeper look into what
00:39:40.05\00:39:43.18
is taking place in the mind,
in the heart of this angel.
00:39:43.22\00:39:48.48
Isaiah 14:12, what's the
first word of Isaiah 14:12?
00:39:48.51\00:39:53.74
"How". Somebody's going to say:
00:39:53.77\00:39:58.53
"Listen, how does a perfect
being in a perfect environment,"
00:39:58.57\00:40:01.48
"made perfectly by a
perfect God, commit a sin?"
00:40:01.51\00:40:05.50
Yes, that is difficult to
explain, but you shouldn't be
00:40:05.54\00:40:08.51
so worried that you don't
understand it, even the prophet
00:40:08.55\00:40:11.45
Isaiah wondered how it happened,
notice what he says in verse 12:
00:40:11.49\00:40:15.01
"How are you fallen?"
There's that word again.
00:40:15.04\00:40:19.81
Jesus had said: "I beheld
Satan fall like lightning"
00:40:19.85\00:40:23.25
"from heaven." Here it is: "How
are you fallen from heaven?"
00:40:23.29\00:40:27.38
That agrees perfectly with
what Jesus said, "O Lucifer",
00:40:27.42\00:40:31.48
that means "light
bearer". "Son of the morning,"
00:40:31.51\00:40:34.38
"how are you cut down to
the ground, you who weaken"
00:40:34.41\00:40:37.25
"the nations." Verse
13, he begins to give us
00:40:37.28\00:40:40.30
an insight: "For you have
said in your heart, I will"
00:40:40.34\00:40:43.64
"ascend into heaven, I
will exult my throne above"
00:40:43.68\00:40:46.62
"the stars of God, I
will sit also on the mount"
00:40:46.66\00:40:49.57
"of the congregation
on the farther sides"
00:40:49.60\00:40:51.10
"of the north, I will
ascend above the heights"
00:40:51.14\00:40:54.19
"of the clouds, I will
be like the Most High."
00:40:54.23\00:40:57.21
Notice the emphasis is on
"I". Satan had an "I" problem.
00:40:57.25\00:41:07.62
At the center of
sin is "s. I. n."
00:41:07.65\00:41:14.29
The originator of sin is Satan,
Lucifer, who began to think
00:41:14.33\00:41:18.80
about "I", at the center
of pride is "p. r. I. d. e."
00:41:18.83\00:41:26.94
"I will be greater, I will
be grand, I will be something."
00:41:26.98\00:41:31.84
He desired that which
was not rightfully his.
00:41:31.87\00:41:35.77
Lucifer the light
bearer, an exalted angel,
00:41:35.80\00:41:39.63
became Satan, the fallen foe,
that is what the Bible teaches.
00:41:39.67\00:41:45.15
He had an "I" problem,
he was created perfectly,
00:41:45.18\00:41:49.69
but he made a choice,
and God being the gentlemen
00:41:49.73\00:41:54.17
that He is, honored that
choice even at significant cost
00:41:54.21\00:41:58.02
and risk to Himself, and
that is the God of the Bible,
00:41:58.05\00:42:01.83
the God of the
Bible is a gentlemen.
00:42:01.86\00:42:05.43
He will not force
His way into your heart,
00:42:05.47\00:42:08.23
He will not force
His way into your life.
00:42:08.26\00:42:10.99
In fact, He says
in Revelation 3:20:
00:42:11.02\00:42:13.01
"Behold, I stand at the door
and knock", but then He says
00:42:13.05\00:42:16.07
"you aught to let
me in", He doesn't say:
00:42:16.10\00:42:18.61
"Behold, I stand at
the door with a SWAT team"
00:42:18.65\00:42:21.14
"and I'm going to bust the door
down, and I'm going to come"
00:42:21.18\00:42:24.07
"in there and I'm going to
make you love me, whether you"
00:42:24.11\00:42:26.97
"like it or not."
00:42:27.00\00:42:29.01
Love is the foundation of
God's government, but love
00:42:29.05\00:42:34.63
must be allowed to say
no. God did not create Satan,
00:42:34.67\00:42:39.19
that's going to be a
huge surprise to many of you.
00:42:39.23\00:42:43.72
God did not create
Satan, God create Lucifer,
00:42:43.75\00:42:50.20
and Lucifer by his own
free will became Satan.
00:42:50.23\00:42:56.61
If you and I were walking
down the street and we saw
00:42:56.65\00:42:58.96
a man who was in the
gutter who was drunk,
00:42:58.99\00:43:01.37
we wouldn't say: "What kind
of a woman would give birth"
00:43:01.41\00:43:03.86
"to that?"
00:43:03.89\00:43:06.76
Come on, that's not what
his mother gave birth to,
00:43:06.80\00:43:09.95
his mother gave birth to a
beautiful, bouncing, innocent
00:43:09.99\00:43:12.77
little boy, and sure,
environment plays a role
00:43:12.80\00:43:15.67
in these things, we're not
suggesting that it doesn't,
00:43:15.71\00:43:18.30
but ultimately at the
end of the day, and the final
00:43:18.33\00:43:20.85
analyses, if someone becomes
that it's because of their own
00:43:20.89\00:43:23.51
choices. We
live in a day and age
00:43:23.54\00:43:26.96
in which there is basically
no personal responsibility.
00:43:27.00\00:43:29.74
If I do something
wrong it's my dad's fault,
00:43:29.77\00:43:31.72
if I do something
wrong, it's my mum's fault.
00:43:31.76\00:43:33.64
Away with this nonsense,
ultimately, you are the arbiter
00:43:33.68\00:43:37.46
of your own destiny, take
responsibility for your actions,
00:43:37.49\00:43:41.24
take responsibility for
your choices and stop blaming
00:43:41.27\00:43:43.72
the world. [Audience] Amen.
00:43:43.75\00:43:46.68
Satan made a choice, God did
not create a satan, an enemy,
00:43:46.72\00:43:51.75
God created a Lucifer, 3 times
He says: "You were perfect",
00:43:51.78\00:43:55.59
but part of that perfection was
the opportunity, the ability,
00:43:55.62\00:43:59.40
the potential to say: "No",
and he exercised that right,
00:43:59.43\00:44:02.54
and God honored him, as
the gentlemen that He is,
00:44:02.57\00:44:04.56
and he made Satan,
Lucifer himself did it.
00:44:04.59\00:44:12.56
What did Lucifer
want? What did he want
00:44:13.52\00:44:17.25
when he began to take
those precipitous steps?
00:44:17.29\00:44:22.02
He wanted a higher
position. It says 3 things in
00:44:22.83\00:44:26.26
your study guide, it's
really 4. He wanted 4 things:
00:44:26.29\00:44:30.52
Nr.1- a higher position,
he says "I want to go up",
00:44:30.55\00:44:33.67
we'll talk more about
that in a future lesson.
00:44:33.71\00:44:36.29
He wanted an exalted
throne, that is he wanted
00:44:36.32\00:44:39.31
the government of God
himself. He wanted rulership
00:44:39.34\00:44:42.26
and dominance, and Nr.4 has
been purposefully put in bold
00:44:42.30\00:44:47.17
faced font, he wanted worship.
What we're going to discover
00:44:47.20\00:44:52.04
this evening is that in
the book of Revelation worship
00:44:52.07\00:44:55.77
is the issue.
00:44:55.80\00:44:59.90
Without further ado
open your Bibles with me
00:45:01.23\00:45:05.68
to the New Testament
book of 2 Thessalonians.
00:45:05.71\00:45:10.13
You'll find Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians,
00:45:10.95\00:45:13.67
Colossians, then
you'll find Thessalonians,
00:45:13.71\00:45:16.40
look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3.
00:45:16.43\00:45:23.71
We move into the portion of
this presentation that deals
00:45:23.75\00:45:27.43
with the Antichrist, and you're
going to learn a great deal
00:45:27.47\00:45:31.12
right now about the Antichrist.
00:45:31.15\00:45:34.59
2 Thessalonians 2:3,
Paul writing to the church
00:45:34.63\00:45:40.43
in Thessalonica says these
words: "Let no one deceive you"
00:45:40.47\00:45:44.59
"by any means, for that
day", in the context it's
00:45:44.62\00:45:48.00
the second coming,
"for that day will not come"
00:45:48.04\00:45:51.35
"unless a falling away
comes first, and the man of sin"
00:45:51.39\00:45:55.37
"is revealed, the son
of perdition" - that is
00:45:55.40\00:45:57.95
the Antichrist, he's
talking about the Antichrist
00:45:57.99\00:46:00.55
being revealed. He
refers to him as the man of sin
00:46:00.59\00:46:03.39
and the son of perdition.
Verse 4: "Who opposes"
00:46:03.43\00:46:06.62
"and exalts himself
above all that is called God"
00:46:06.66\00:46:09.78
"or that is worshipped, so that
he sits as God in the temple"
00:46:09.82\00:46:18.07
"of God, showing
himself that he is God."
00:46:18.10\00:46:22.75
Notice on the 3rd page of your
worksheet: According to the book
00:46:22.79\00:46:26.59
of Revelation, the dividing
issue at the end of time
00:46:26.62\00:46:29.30
will be the issue of worship.
Note the way the apostle
00:46:29.34\00:46:32.02
Paul describes the Antichrist
power in 2 Thessalonians 2,
00:46:32.06\00:46:34.71
which we've just read,
do you see any similarities
00:46:34.74\00:46:37.85
between the Antichrist's
attitude and Satan's?
00:46:37.88\00:46:40.92
- [Audience replies] Yes.
- Sure, both wanted to exalt
00:46:40.96\00:46:43.38
themselves
against, or over, God.
00:46:43.41\00:46:46.09
Both long for that which
is not rightfully theirs.
00:46:46.13\00:46:49.29
The Antichrist goes into
the temple of God, not to show
00:46:49.33\00:46:52.83
that he is against God,
but what does the Bible say?
00:46:52.87\00:46:56.34
To show that he IS God.
00:46:56.37\00:46:59.55
That's a subtle point
that many people miss.
00:46:59.59\00:47:01.25
People say: "Oh, this
Antichrist thing is going to be"
00:47:01.29\00:47:03.85
"a piece of cake, he's
going to show up on the scene,"
00:47:03.89\00:47:06.42
" 'anti' means
against, he's against Christ,"
00:47:06.45\00:47:08.79
"you'll be able to
pick him, it'll be easy."
00:47:08.82\00:47:10.93
"It's like shooting a
fish in barrel", hardly!
00:47:10.96\00:47:12.99
The Antichrist doesn't
go into the temple of God
00:47:13.03\00:47:14.99
to show that he's against God,
he goes into the temple of God
00:47:15.03\00:47:17.84
to show that he IS God.
We'll spend more time on that
00:47:17.87\00:47:22.22
in just a moment. But
notice: for the purpose
00:47:22.25\00:47:24.65
of what? He
exalts himself above all
00:47:24.68\00:47:26.89
that is called God,
that's the next line, or that is
00:47:26.93\00:47:32.54
worshipped. Worship
is not a scientific word,
00:47:32.57\00:47:36.42
worship is a religious word,
and worship at the end of time
00:47:36.46\00:47:41.21
will be the
issue. With that in mind
00:47:41.24\00:47:43.78
go to Revelation 13,
this is the Antichrist chapter
00:47:43.82\00:47:48.39
of Revelation, Revelation
13, we're going to read
00:47:48.42\00:47:52.96
the first 4
verses of Revelation 13.
00:47:52.99\00:47:57.44
You're going to see this
strange, unusual, conglomerate
00:47:58.28\00:48:01.80
beast, don't get hung up on
the details, we'll come back
00:48:01.83\00:48:05.10
to this, we'll spend plenty
of time, but just very quickly
00:48:05.14\00:48:08.50
I want you to see something
fascinating, and fundamental,
00:48:08.54\00:48:11.87
and illuminating
about the Antichrist.
00:48:11.90\00:48:14.40
Revelation 13:1, John
says: "And I stood on the sand"
00:48:14.44\00:48:19.06
"of the sea, and I saw a
beast rising up out of the sea"
00:48:19.09\00:48:23.81
"having 7 heads and 10 horns,
and on his horns 10 crowns,"
00:48:23.84\00:48:28.53
"and on his heads
a blasphemous name."
00:48:28.56\00:48:31.14
We're going to go through
all of those identifiers,
00:48:31.18\00:48:33.20
don't worry about that, we're
going to spend lots of time
00:48:33.24\00:48:36.03
in this chapter, hang in there.
Verse 2: "The beast which I saw"
00:48:36.07\00:48:40.11
"was like a leopard, his feet
were like the feat of a bear,"
00:48:40.15\00:48:44.16
"his mouth like the
mouth of a lion", notice this,
00:48:44.19\00:48:47.70
"the dragon gave him
his power, and his throne,"
00:48:47.74\00:48:51.17
"and his great
authority." This is an artist's
00:48:51.21\00:48:54.57
representation of what
this beast may have looked like
00:48:54.61\00:48:57.11
to John, notice the feet
of a bear, the mouth of lion,
00:48:57.15\00:48:59.97
the body of a leopard,
these 10 horns, and it says
00:49:00.00\00:49:02.75
the dragon gave him his
power, his throne and his great
00:49:02.79\00:49:06.08
authority; you say:
"Well who's the dragon?"
00:49:06.11\00:49:08.91
Look in Revelation 12:9,
we could pass a hat around,
00:49:08.95\00:49:15.75
we could take a vote and decide
who we think the dragon is,
00:49:15.79\00:49:18.49
no no, the Bible
interprets itself.
00:49:18.52\00:49:23.39
Look in Revelation 12:9,
there's no doubt about it:
00:49:23.43\00:49:26.45
"So the great dragon was
cast out, that serpent of old"
00:49:26.49\00:49:30.21
"called the Devil and Satan,
who deceives the whole world"
00:49:30.24\00:49:33.17
"he was cast to the earth,
and his angels were cast out"
00:49:33.20\00:49:36.10
"with him." So
according to the Bible's
00:49:36.13\00:49:38.72
own interpretation,
who is the dragon?
00:49:38.75\00:49:41.31
Satan and the Devil.
00:49:41.34\00:49:44.11
Notice in Revelation 13:2
that the dragon, that is Satan,
00:49:47.05\00:49:51.50
gives this creature,
this power, this person,
00:49:51.53\00:49:55.72
his power, his throne
and his great authority.
00:49:55.75\00:49:59.87
Now you might be saying:
"Who, I've never seen a beast"
00:49:59.91\00:50:02.84
"like that, surely we'll
recognize the Antichrist"
00:50:02.87\00:50:05.38
"when he shows up, I mean
he's going to look like that,"
00:50:05.42\00:50:07.69
"we'll know him."
Beloved, the book of Revelation
00:50:07.72\00:50:09.95
is written is symbols.
00:50:09.98\00:50:11.97
You say: "Well
what does that mean?"
00:50:12.01\00:50:14.04
We'll spend lots of time
on what that means, in fact,
00:50:14.08\00:50:16.78
if you're really paying
very carefully attention
00:50:16.81\00:50:19.32
I'll give you a little heads
up here, the beasts on this
00:50:19.36\00:50:22.14
flier right here, the
beasts on this backdrop,
00:50:22.17\00:50:24.85
are from Daniel 7: a
winged lion, a bear raised up
00:50:24.89\00:50:27.50
on 1 side, a 4 headed leopard,
and a beast with 10 horns,
00:50:27.54\00:50:30.47
that's Daniel 7. Now
take a look over there,
00:50:30.50\00:50:32.91
feat of a bear, body of
a leopard, mouth of a lion,
00:50:32.95\00:50:35.47
10 horns, do you see
the parallels everyone?
00:50:35.50\00:50:37.95
We'll spend lots of time
on that, now look at verse 4.
00:50:37.99\00:50:40.82
Notice the switcheroo.
00:50:40.85\00:50:42.94
That's a technical term, some
of you may have never heard that
00:50:42.98\00:50:45.01
term before, it's a technical,
it's a theological term,
00:50:45.04\00:50:48.53
I apologize for using such a
fancy term. Verse 4, it says:
00:50:48.56\00:50:52.67
"So they worshipped" - there's
our word, "they worshipped"
00:50:52.71\00:50:56.79
"the dragon." Who's the dragon?
00:50:56.82\00:50:59.52
- [Audience replies]
Satan. - Notice what that verse
00:50:59.56\00:51:02.35
is saying: "they
worshipped the devil."
00:51:02.38\00:51:04.49
Is that what that
verse is saying, yes or no?
00:51:04.53\00:51:06.80
- [Audience replies] Yes. -
It's exactly what that verse
00:51:06.84\00:51:09.74
is saying, but what?
I mean, come on, give me
00:51:09.77\00:51:12.26
a break; if the Devil walked
in here tonight as the Devil
00:51:12.30\00:51:14.93
with a great big sign around
his neck, a placard that said
00:51:14.97\00:51:17.45
"I'm the Devil", and he
stood up in front and he said:
00:51:17.48\00:51:20.01
"Fellas, ladies, worship
me." Would you worship him?
00:51:20.04\00:51:22.54
- [Audience replies]
No. - No way, do you think
00:51:22.57\00:51:25.19
the Devil knows
that? Of course he does,
00:51:25.22\00:51:27.77
the Bible says he's subtle,
he's clever, he's like a thief,
00:51:27.81\00:51:30.04
he's foxy, he knows
that. If the Devil came in
00:51:30.07\00:51:32.98
and announced himself as the
Devil and said: "worship me",
00:51:33.02\00:51:35.49
no one's going to go for
it, the Devil knows that,
00:51:35.52\00:51:38.74
but he still longs and
desires for worship, and praise,
00:51:38.78\00:51:41.77
and honor.
00:51:41.80\00:51:44.21
So he has to get a front
man, but watch what happens:
00:51:47.03\00:51:52.09
he gets his front man, say
here, he gets his front man
00:51:52.12\00:51:57.15
and he gives his front
man, willingly, his power,
00:51:57.18\00:52:00.45
his throne, his great
authority so that when you
00:52:00.49\00:52:03.69
worship the front man, who
are you really worshipping?
00:52:03.73\00:52:07.58
The one who set him
up. Look at verse 4 again,
00:52:07.61\00:52:10.96
look at the
switcheroo in verse 4.
00:52:10.99\00:52:13.36
"So they worshipped the dragon,
who gave authority to the beast"
00:52:13.40\00:52:17.66
"and they worshipped the beast,
saying, Who is like the beast?"
00:52:17.70\00:52:21.93
"Who is able to
make war with him?"
00:52:21.96\00:52:24.12
Look at your study guide.
00:52:24.15\00:52:27.19
Page 3, down there at the end:
Revelation 13 is the Antichrist
00:52:27.23\00:52:32.70
chapter, according to
verse 2 who gives the Antichrist
00:52:32.73\00:52:38.04
his power, his throne
and his great authority?
00:52:38.07\00:52:40.27
Who is it everyone? The dragon.
00:52:40.30\00:52:42.42
Who is the dragon
according to Revelation 12:9?
00:52:42.46\00:52:45.38
Satan. Note
carefully the switcheroo
00:52:45.41\00:52:47.97
in verse 4, when the
beast is worshipped, who else
00:52:48.01\00:52:50.20
is worshipped? [Audience] Satan.
00:52:50.23\00:52:52.15
You've got it, and here
Satan gets the longing desire
00:52:52.19\00:52:54.78
of his heart, worship.
How does he get worship?
00:52:54.81\00:52:58.26
By setting up this Antichrist
front man who goes into
00:52:58.30\00:53:02.97
the temple of God to
show himself that he IS God.
00:53:03.00\00:53:06.33
Beloved, think that through
for a moment: the longing
00:53:06.37\00:53:09.67
desire of Satan's
heart is to receive worship,
00:53:09.70\00:53:12.13
but he's smart
enough to know that nobody
00:53:12.16\00:53:14.54
would worship him if they
knew who he was, so he gets
00:53:14.58\00:53:17.51
a front man, a religious figure,
he sets him up with his power,
00:53:17.55\00:53:20.63
his seat, his great
authority, but when you worship
00:53:20.66\00:53:22.97
the front man you're
really worshipping the one
00:53:23.00\00:53:25.28
that propped him up.
00:53:25.31\00:53:28.53
You can take a look on the
back page of your study guide,
00:53:29.59\00:53:32.39
it says: surveying
worship in Revelation 13 and 14,
00:53:32.42\00:53:35.12
what do the following
verses have in common?
00:53:35.15\00:53:37.40
You look at Revelation 13
and 14, everyone of those verses
00:53:37.44\00:53:41.30
contain the word "worship".
00:53:41.33\00:53:47.13
That is the central
issue. Some people think:
00:53:47.17\00:53:50.29
"It's going to be a political
issues", surely there will be
00:53:50.33\00:53:52.39
political elements involved,
but the primary issue on
00:53:52.42\00:53:55.31
the great landscape of the
Antichrist and his conflict
00:53:55.34\00:53:58.20
with God's church is
not politics, it's worship.
00:53:58.23\00:54:03.66
In fact, you find very little
about politics in the book
00:54:03.70\00:54:07.06
of Revelation, but you
find a whole lot about worship.
00:54:07.10\00:54:09.95
I'm going to prove this to
you, and this is absolutely
00:54:09.99\00:54:12.81
incredible. The
pivotal issue at the end
00:54:12.84\00:54:15.27
of time in the end of
time in the book of Revelation
00:54:15.31\00:54:19.91
is the issue of worship.
Go with me to the last part
00:54:19.94\00:54:24.51
of your study guide:
Unquestionably, the most
00:54:24.54\00:54:28.14
audacious thing Satan
ever did is found in Matthew 4,
00:54:28.18\00:54:31.87
you know Matthew 4, it's
the story of the temptation
00:54:31.90\00:54:35.52
in the wilderness. Jesus had
been fasting in the wilderness,
00:54:35.56\00:54:39.43
Satan came to tempt Him,
he urged Jesus to make stones
00:54:39.46\00:54:42.86
into bread, Jesus
refused with the plain:
00:54:42.89\00:54:45.30
"It is written man shall
not live by bread alone, but by"
00:54:45.34\00:54:48.30
"every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God."
00:54:48.34\00:54:51.12
Satan then urged Jesus to
cast Himself from the pinnacle
00:54:51.15\00:54:53.90
of the temple, again
Jesus refused: "It is written"
00:54:53.93\00:54:56.28
" 'Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord Thy God.' "
00:54:56.31\00:54:59.00
And then the final one the
Bible says that he showed Him
00:54:59.04\00:55:01.79
all the kingdoms of the
world, and all their glory,
00:55:01.82\00:55:04.82
that's verse 8, and he
said: "All these things"
00:55:04.85\00:55:07.78
"I will give you if you
just fall down and worship me."
00:55:07.82\00:55:12.62
Jesus responded with utter
indignation: "Away with you"
00:55:12.66\00:55:16.33
"Satan, for it is written
'You shall worship the Lord' "
00:55:16.37\00:55:19.68
" 'your God and Him only
shalt thou serve' ", this is
00:55:19.71\00:55:22.99
where Satan's rabid
and ridiculous idea reached
00:55:23.02\00:55:26.73
its pathetic height. He
had that audacity to ask
00:55:26.76\00:55:30.74
Jesus, the Creator and
the Redeemer, to worship him.
00:55:30.78\00:55:34.07
Think of it, at that
very moment Jesus the creator
00:55:34.10\00:55:37.28
held Satan's existence in
His very hand, it would be
00:55:37.32\00:55:40.01
like you walking into your
house today, and your little
00:55:40.05\00:55:42.71
goldfish in your goldfish
bowl says: "Worship me!"
00:55:42.74\00:55:46.19
And you say: "Worship
you? I'm going to eat you."
00:55:46.22\00:55:49.64
[Audience laughs]
00:55:49.67\00:55:51.95
The height of insanity,
the height of intoxication
00:55:51.99\00:55:56.83
and inebriation.
Satan had the audacity
00:55:56.86\00:56:01.65
to ask his own creator, to
ask the Redeemer of the world
00:56:01.69\00:56:05.11
to worship him, this is
case in point that the central
00:56:05.14\00:56:08.53
issue pulsating in the
perverted heart of Satan
00:56:08.56\00:56:12.70
is to receive worship.
00:56:12.73\00:56:17.09
So what is the Bible prophecy's
answer for human suffering?
00:56:17.13\00:56:20.90
It's very simple,
God did not create Satan,
00:56:20.93\00:56:24.21
God created a being
named Lucifer, Lucifer made
00:56:24.25\00:56:27.50
his own choice
and created Satan.
00:56:27.53\00:56:29.80
Jesus said 5 words
"An enemy has done this",
00:56:29.84\00:56:32.40
and then He said 4
words: "whom Satan has bound",
00:56:32.44\00:56:35.46
the Devil is responsible,
but what does he want?
00:56:35.50\00:56:38.49
He wants worship,
how's he going to get it?
00:56:38.52\00:56:40.82
Through the Antichrist.
00:56:40.85\00:56:43.64
I want to ask you a question
as we close, has this all
00:56:43.68\00:56:46.80
- made sense, yes or
no? - [Audience] Yes.
00:56:46.83\00:56:49.49
Okay, this is just the first
message, remember I told you,
00:56:49.53\00:56:52.53
3 of these next 3 messages
all fit together like a whole.
00:56:52.56\00:56:55.53
We won't be here tomorrow
night, but we'll be back
00:56:55.56\00:56:58.15
on Thursday and that
presentation is entitled:
00:56:58.18\00:57:01.06
"The War Behind the
Wars", and we're going to go
00:57:01.09\00:57:03.90
right into Revelation 12,
and you're going to understand
00:57:03.94\00:57:06.76
Revelation 12 like
perhaps you never have before.
00:57:06.79\00:57:09.79
Before we close I
want to ask you a question:
00:57:09.83\00:57:12.56
who will you
worship, who will you serve?
00:57:12.59\00:57:15.25
Raise your hand if you
say "I want to serve Jesus,"
00:57:15.29\00:57:17.94
"forget about this Antichrist
stuff, I want to serve the Lord"
00:57:17.98\00:57:20.78
Let us pray together,
Father in heaven, tonight
00:57:20.81\00:57:23.65
we have seen in Your word, not
just from the words of a man,
00:57:23.69\00:57:26.27
the ideas of a man, no,
from Your word we have seen
00:57:26.30\00:57:28.70
that You are not responsible
for the pain, suffering,
00:57:28.74\00:57:31.11
sickness, death and
disease in the world today,
00:57:31.14\00:57:33.95
we've also seen that the core
issue in the book of Revelation
00:57:33.99\00:57:36.64
is the issue of worship,
and that the longing desire
00:57:36.67\00:57:39.00
of Satan's perverted
and intoxicated heart
00:57:39.03\00:57:41.73
is to receive worship.
But Father, today we say
00:57:41.77\00:57:45.00
with Joshua: "As for me
and my house, I will serve"
00:57:45.03\00:57:48.28
"the Lord", in Jesus' name
let all of the saints of God
00:57:48.31\00:57:51.53
say amen.
00:57:51.56\00:57:53.79